Mark Zuckerberg Sells 13,793 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $710.24, for a total transaction of $9,796,340.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,862,237.92. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mark Zuckerberg also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $700.38, for a total value of $350,190.00.
• On Monday, June 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.06, for a total value of $9,683,513.58.
• On Tuesday, June 17th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total value of $5,836,104.56.
• On Wednesday, June 18th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,753 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $700.43, for a total transaction of $1,928,283.79.
• On Monday, June 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,466 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.25, for a total transaction of $5,235,532.50.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09.
• On Wednesday, June 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total transaction of $5,476,691.92.
• On Friday, June 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $1,025,052.06.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

META opened at $708.68 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $629.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $624.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $712.69.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.